Answer:
In 2Na(S) + Cl2 → 2 NaCl (S): The oxidising agent is chlorine.
According to the new concept, loss of electrons is oxidation and the agent that helps in oxidation is the oxidizing agent which is chlorine in this case.
- In the above-given reaction sodium metal (Na) reacts with chlorine gas (Cl2) to produce sodium chloride (NaCl).
- Sodium’s oxidation number rises from 0 on the reactant’s side to +1 on the product’s side, meaning that sodium is being oxidized.
- The oxidation number of chlorine, on the other hand, decreases from 0 in the reactants to -1 in the products, indicating that chlorine is being reduced.
Oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent (often referred to as an oxidizer or an oxidant) is a chemical species that tends to oxidize other substances, i.e. cause an increase in the oxidation state of the substance by making it lose electrons.
- They are chemical substances whose atoms remove at least one electron from another atom in a chemical reaction.
- An oxidizing agent is a substance that transfers at least one electronegative atom to a chemical species in a chemical reaction.
- Common examples of oxidizing agents are hydrogen peroxide, oxygen, etc.
Reducing agent
A substance that loses electrons to other substances in a redox reaction and gets oxidized to the higher valency state is called a reducing agent.
- A reducing agent is one of the reactants of an oxidation-reduction reaction which reduces the other reactant by giving out electrons to the reactant.
- If the reducing agent does not pass electrons to other substances in a reaction, then the reduction process cannot occur.
- Common examples of reducing agents are sodium, hydracids( HCl, HI, HBr, H2S), etc.
